This Tiny Detail in ‘It’ Is a Major Spoiler for a Horrifying Death in ‘Chapter Two’

When the new adaptation of Stephen King’s beloved novel hit theaters on Sept. 9, 2017, fans were cautiously optimistic that it would succeed. And It most certainly did — impressing critics, terrifying fans, and scaring up record-breaking numbers at the box office.

It also set fans up for an exciting finale. The movie revealed, in its closing moments, that we’d only watched the first part of the Losers’ Club story. We now know that Andy Muschietti will likely be back to direct the second It film, which should hit theaters in 2019.

Fans of King’s It won’t be surprised to learn that the second movie will follow the seven friends as adults — and they will definitely encounter Pennywise again. If you haven’t read the book, you may not have noticed it, but the first film did offer some blink-and-you-might-miss-’em hints at what we might see in It: Chapter Two. It also included some solid clues as to who will ultimately survive. It should go without saying, but major spoilers ahead!

1. One member of the Losers’ Club dies before he can come back to Derry

The Loser’s Club | New Line Cinema

In It’s final moments, the Losers’ Club makes a pact that they’ll return to Derry if the monster returns. And they make a blood oath to seal the deal. It’s a touching moment, one that reaffirms their friendship and the bond they’ve forged over the summer.

The sequel will reveal whether or not each of the seven friends will keep their promise as adults. And if it follows the source material, at least one will not return. In Stephen King’s novel, nearly all of the Losers’ Club leave Derry, grow up, and completely forget about what happened to them. The only one who remembers is Mike Hanlon, who stays behind and becomes the town’s librarian.

Mike is the one who calls them all and asks them to come back once Pennywise returns, 27 years after they first fought him. Five of the six uphold their promise. But after Stanley Uris’ memories flood back to him, he’s overwhelmed and commits suicide.

In Muschietti’s version of It, Stanley is the first to bid his friends goodbye and leave the group after they make the blood oath. But that may have been more than just a nod to eagle-eyed fans of King’s novel. Indeed, the fact that he, for all intents and purposes, was the one that broke the circle also likely foreshadows Stan’s untimely and tragic demise.

2. Another character could perish when the Losers’ Club fights It again

The Loser’s Club might lose another member. | New Line Cinema

It’s almost too sad to imagine any of the Losers’ Club dying. After all, the seven friends seemed almost invincible after their hard-fought battle against Pennywise in the sewers. But Stanley likely won’t be the only casualty of the adults’ reckoning with their childhood monster.

In Stephen King’s It, Eddie Kaspbrak goes one-on-one with the titular monster after it transforms into its true form — an enormous spider. Though he fights valiantly, he ends up having his arm torn off completely, and he dies from blood loss, with his friends by his side.

The harrowing moment is easily one of the most tragic scenes in King’s novel. And Muschietti may have left another clue for viewers that Eddie’s fate will be similar in It: Chapter Two. The anxiety-ridden hypochondriac is the second to break away from the group, shortly after Stanley — perhaps a symbol that he will do the same when the group grows up.

3. The love triangle will continue

Beverly Marsh | New Line Cinema

One of the most poignant parts of It: Chapter One was the authentically sweet love triangle between Bill Denbrough, Beverly Marsh, and Ben Hanscomb. While the first film ended with a kiss between Bill and Bev, Muschietti did leave some subtle hints that the romantic entanglements hadn’t been completely sorted out.

After the group disbanded, Ben, Beverly, and Bill were the last three standing. Ben did break away first, but that doesn’t mean he will fail to win Beverly’s heart. In Stephen King’s novel, Beverly and Bill do rekindle their feelings for one another. But Bill is married, and Bev ultimately realizes that she is in love with Ben.

If that’s how it ends up for the trio in It: Chapter 2, there were some hints along the way. First, there was the fact that Beverly came back from her trance after a kiss from Ben. She also knew instantly that he, and not Bill, had written her the love poem — and didn’t seem particularly disappointed by that fact.

4. Henry Bowers and Mike Hanlon may meet again

Henry Bowers | New Line Cinema

Derry’s resident unhinged bully didn’t get much of a resolution in It’s first chapter. We know that he was injured after his confrontation with Mike, but didn’t see what happened to him afterwards.

In King’s novel, Henry plays a prominent role when the Losers return to Derry as adults. He confesses to killing all of It’s victims and spends the next 27 years sitting in prison, out of his mind. Then he starts to see visions of Pennywise in the moon. Henry breaks out of prison and travels back to his hometown, intent on killing the remaining members of the Losers’ Club. He eventually has a violent encounter with Mike in the library, that ends with the librarian killing his childhood tormenter.

There’s no way of knowing whether Henry’s story will play out exactly like that in It: Chapter Two. But given that he seemed to take particular pleasure in tormenting Mike in Chapter One, it would certainly feel natural if they battled it out again as adults.

5. Richie could have a run-in with one of Derry’s scarier landmarks

Richie | New Line Cinema

In some ways, the town of Derry was itself a character in It. From landmarks like Neibolt Street to the sleepy small-town streets, it felt very real, very alive, and very dangerous. That likely won’t change in the sequel, when the Losers’ Club return home to kill the monster once and for all.

It’s likely that the town will again serve as not only a backdrop, but an active part of their battle. In King’s It, the monster inhabits the large Paul Bunyan statue in the town square and goes after Richie when he’s a child. Richie has a strange encounter with the statue again when he comes back 27 years later.

That scene didn’t make it into Muschietti’s It, but we did get a glimpse of the strangely bright and maybe a bit too cheerful statue in the movie. The Paul Bunyan statue could have just been added for the sake of the novel’s fans. Or, it could have been a subtle nod to a yet-to-be-seen horrific moment for Richie in the next film.

6. The ‘I Love Derry’ balloon could appear again

Pennywise behind the iconic red balloon | New Line Cinema

When Patrick Hocksetter went into the sewers to chase after Ben, he didn’t know he was walking straight into a monster’s den. His death, and the moments leading up to it, were some of the most gruesome in the first It movie. And the scene also offered one of the biggest jump scares for fans in the audience, when a red balloon floated toward Patrick and popped, revealing Pennywise.

Red balloons are, perhaps, the most memorable symbol in It. They crop up again and again, whenever Pennywise is about to wreak havoc. But this one in particular had something unique: It was embossed with the words “I Love Derry.” While that may have seemed insignificant, it likely isn’t.

In King’s novel, the first adult victim of the Losers’ Club is a young man named Adrian Mellon. Despite the fact that he’s tormented by the town’s bullies, who hate him because he’s gay, Adrian loves Derry — so much so that he wears a hat proclaiming that very fact after he wins it at a carnival.

The balloon, featuring the same words, could be a nod to It’s future victim — and no one should be surprised to see the phrase pop up again in Chapter Two.

7. What Beverly saw in It’s deadlights will be important

Beverly Marsh | New Line Cinema

When Beverly was captured by Pennywise, she defiantly told him that she wasn’t scared of him. So he revealed to her, through his deadlights, a moment from the future that would be sure to leave her shaken.

After the Losers’ Club fought It, Beverly told her friends that she’d seen them all together again as adults. While she didn’t understand exactly what she was seeing, she could feel how frightened they were. In fact, she felt it so strongly that she was sure she’d never forget it.

Beverly was likely seeing a glimpse of the future, when the group returns to Derry to fight It again. And that means we will likely get a chance to see the vision she had play out in It: Chapter Two. But she was wrong on one key part of the story she relayed to her friends, though. Beverly will forget what she saw. That is, until she gets the fateful phone call reminding her of the promise she made as a child.